Virat Kohli to Rishabh Pant: List of likely/confirmed captains for IPL 2025
1. Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans) – Confirmed
The batter will be seen leading the Gujarat-based franchise in the upcoming season of the IPL. Gill was retained by GT for a whopping fee of INR 16.5 crore. There was always a high possibility that the franchise would stick with Gill as their skipper and that is exactly what happened.
2. Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings) – Confirmed
The India batter, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last season was surprisingly not retained by the franchise. This led to Iyer entering the auction and getting bought by the Punjab Kings for a massive fee of INR 26.5 crore. The franchise later announced him as their skipper for the upcoming season.
3. Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals) – Confirmed
The wicketkeeper-batter has been leading the Rajasthan-based franchise since the 2021 season. While Samson may not have any silverware to show at the moment, he has been a key figure in the RR squad for the past few seasons now.
4. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) – Likely
Although an official statement from the franchise is yet to come, it is likely that Kohli will b seen leading RCB in the upcoming IPL season. Kohli has previously led the franchise as well and has become a highly important figure in the side especially in the past decade.
5. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings) – Confirmed
The batter led the Chennai-based franchise for the first time in the 2024 IPL season. Gaikwad will once again be captaining CSK in the upcoming season. Though many speculations were made about the franchise giving the captaincy back to MS Dhoni, they decided to stick with Gaikwad.
6. Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants) – Confirmed
The India wicketkeeper-batter was surprisingly not retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 IPL season. This led to him entering the auction and becoming the most expensive player in the league’s history after getting bought by the Lucknow-based franchise for a humongous fee of INR 27 crore. Pant is confirmed to lead the franchise in the upcoming season.
7. Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders) – Likely
The out-of-favour India batter was not retained by the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the auction. The Kolkata-based franchise roped the batter in during the auction and now he is likely to lead them in the upcoming season. Rahane does have experience as a skipper and even led Mumbai to their Ranji Trophy triumph last season.
8. Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – Confirmed
The Australia skipper is the only overseas player, who is confirmed to lead a franchise in the league in the upcoming season. Cummins had a terrific season with the Hyderabad-based franchise in 2024 and even led them to the final. However, the team ended up falling short on the final hurdle.
9. Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians) – Confirmed
The India all-rounder was handed the captaincy by the Mumbai-based franchise in the 2024 season of the league. However, things didn’t end up going exactly as planned and MI finished at the bottom of the table with only 8 points from 14 matches. Pandya will be looking to improve as a captain in the upcoming season.
10. Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals) – Likely
The India all-rounder has been an important part of the Delhi-based franchise since he joined back in the 2019 season. Though no official announcement has been made by DC yet, Axar is expected to lead the franchise in the upcoming season.
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